Conventional toners are produced by grinding a composite block to form toner particles. The grinding process has a high energy consumption and results in particles with high coarse content and irregular shape and size distributions. As such, conventional toner particles must be sorted to eliminate undesirable particles.
Typically, resins used in chemical toners for imaging are petroleum-based. The use of petroleum-based materials leads to an increased release of greenhouse gases and accumulation of non-degradable materials in the environment. In addition, some petroleum-based resins have been identified as toxic. For example resins derived from the Bisphenol A monomer are commonly used in toner compositions. Bisphenol A has been identified as a carcinogen and endocrine disrupter resulting in adverse developmental effects in mice. Its use in drinking bottles and microwave ware is suspected to be harmful. In fact, several European Countries, as well as Canada and several U.S. states are targeting the ban of this chemical.
Bio-based resins have attracted interest as an alternative to petroleum-based polymeric materials. Bio-based resins are derived from renewable plant materials and generally do not contain environmentally damaging or toxic substances. By using bio-based products, reliance on petroleum resources is diminished. Thus, bio-based resins may serve as a viable replacement for some petroleum-based resins due to their properties and environmental acceptability.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,690 to Tomita describes a conventional toner that includes as components a coloring agent and a binder, the binder including a wax and ethyl polysaccharide (ethyl etherified D-glucose). Although this process uses a polysaccharide, it fails to do so in a energy efficient process that results in low coarse content and with desirable particle shape and size distributions.
Thus, there is a need for alternative, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic materials for use in toner particles that can be used in energy efficient processes for making toner particles with desirable particle characteristics.